Jakub Mensik Reveals How Lionel Messi Helped Him Win At Miami Open: '...Bring Me Some Luck'
Jakub Mensik said he did not wash his hands after shaking hands with Lionel Messi, for luck, and that helped him win at the Miami Open.
Czech teenager Jakub Mensik had a surprise meeting with Lionel Messi before his Miami Open upset win over Taylor Fritz and suggested the Argentine’s winning habit may have rubbed off on him.
Mensik, 19, powered to a three-set win which sets up a meeting with Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final — the Czech’s first title game at Masters 1000 level.
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Messi went into the locker-rooms at Hard Rock Stadium to meet Djokovic after his earlier win over Grigor Dimitrov, and was introduced to Mensik.
“Meeting this legend, not even a human, it’s not happening every day," said Mensik.
“I just chilled with him a bit and shook his hand. And after shaking that hand, I didn’t wash it before the match, you know, to bring me some luck, so probably that was the key for me today," he said with a smile.
Mensik certainly had Messi on his mind at the end of the game when after his victory he wrote on the camera lens “Thank you Leo".
The Czech said he was glad to have had the opportunity to have seen the personal side of Messi away from his performances on the field.
“It’s not just that he has won those Champions Leagues and World Cups and everything (it was) seeing he’s also a human. It’s really awesome that the dream came true," he said.
Messi travelled to the tennis tournament after training with his team, local club Inter Miami.
The tournament is held at Hard Rock Stadium which will host Messi’s games with Inter Miami in June’s Club World Cup.
Mensik Beats Fritz
As expected, the contest between Mensik and Fritz was a baseline battle which was ultimately decided by two tie-breaks won by the Czech.
Fritz ended up in the unusual position of losing despite his serve not being broken — he faced just two break points in the whole game.
“It doesn’t really take the pain away too much. Between the two breakers, like, I have to win one of them. I have to play a little bit better," said the American.
“I think when I’m playing well, when I’m winning matches, it’s kind of just what I do. I pull through these situations. So to just kind of get out-toughed in two breakers, it sucks. I did my job. I didn’t get broken. I didn’t face a break point until the third set, so… It sucks," he added.
Mensik blasted 25 aces and kept the pressure on Fritz throughout with his relentless power-hitting as he reached his first Masters 1000 final.
“I just I cannot describe how I feel right now, the feeling will come later. It was a fantastic atmosphere even though I was facing an American here," said Mensik.
“The key was to stay focused. He serves the same as me so it was just a game of serves. He didn’t give me the opportunity to break him, so the two tie breaks decided it."
(With inputs from Agencies)
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